Shut up, kids, and listen to the judges

You could probably walk into any subway car in New York City and find eight better singers than the ones we heard Tuesday night. What happened to finding the best of the best? Something must have been in the Coke that Simon, Randy, and Paula were drinking when they put these people through. Not only were the contestants this week lame, but many also had personalities that would make anyone cringe.

To be honest, it’s difficult to imagine which two will make it to the final 10. Joshua the Marine is a given, mostly because his decent performance looked like a Grammy Award-winning one by comparison. As for the other slot? Hmmm… Corey? Nakesha? Chip? No one really deserves it. Not that Nakesha can’t sing, but please, please, please show an ounce of personality!

For sure, it won’t be Ashley who makes it to the final 10. The blond bombshell could barely hit a note, but how bad did you feel for her when the judges went on and on about how she should be a TV or movie star and get as far away from singing as possible? Even Ryan couldn’t disagree with them; the best he could offer her was a ”Thanks for being here.” Still, it’s hard to feel sorry for someone who looks that good in lace-up stilettos.

Juanita is the most hateful contestant this show has ever produced. Deal with it, honey – your song choice sucked. No one liked the performance. Not even Paula! The fact that she felt compelled to give so much ‘tude and tell off both Randy and Simon with ”You don’t know what you’re talking about” might have seemed cutesy or spunky last year, but it was simply obnoxious this time around.

Sylvia and Patrick weren’t as offensive as Juanita, but they too could have shut their traps long enough to listen to what the judges had to say. I get annoyed as much as the next person when Randy goes off about how he’s worked with Mariah and Whitney, but he does know more than your average reality show contestant off the street.

Lord help me. I’m siding with Randy and Simon over the contestants. That’s a bad sign. These singers must be really bad for that to happen. And to think that Frenchie would have been in this group.

What did you think of the show? (We’ll select the best comments posted today for tomorrow’s ”American Idol” report.)